Car coupler



H. H. WOLFE CAR COUPLER Sept. 18, 1951 5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1 948 Sept. 18, 1951- H; H. WOLFE 2,563,312

CAR COUPLER Filed March 15, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheeh z w r: l I'/\/ #a z m E- 5 M 1 J!" v m :2 #a *a Q g "A v m V m I 1x I w a W "5 3. m Awe/Mow Sept. 18, 1951 WOLFE 2,568,312

CAR COUPLER Filed March 15, 1948 5 Shet's-Sheet 5 3 y wmwm SePt; 18, 1951 H. H. .WOLFE 2,568,312

CAR COUPLER Filed March 15, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q H. WOLFE Sept. 18, 1951 CAR COUPLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 15, 1948 Patented Sept. 18, 3 1951 Harry H. Wolfe,.Columbus, Ohio, 'assignor to The Buckeye Steel Castings Company, Columbus,

' Application M h s, 194.8, Serial No. 15,020

The present invention relates to railway car couplers and more particularly pertains tdja-nticreep means for the lock of such couplin devices.

The invention is directed to a railway'car 'cou pler having a pivoted knuckle and a substantially vertically movable lock for holding the knuckle in the closed position. In a coupler of this type, it is important to provide means for preventing undesired upward movement of the lock'so as to avoid inadvertent unlockingof the knuckle. The prior art includes anticreep'means in association with a lock of a-car coupler and in one earlier arrangement, the lifter link is provided 2 this member rearwardly and impairing attainment of a proper lockset engagement.

A more detailed object of the invention is to provide a ledge or lug on the coupler head adapt-v ed to be engaged by a uniquely shaped toggle to prevent accidental or undesired upward movement of the lock with the lug soconstructed and positioned as to provide positive anticreep and.

' at the same time facilitate the assembly of the with an arm adapted to lie under a'projection on the knuckle tail to serve asmeans for preventing upward movement" ofthe lock? Such an anticreep arrangement has thedisadvantage that when the knucklerotatesirearwardlyfinbuff,

the anticreep engagement between the arm and the projection on the knuckle tail is reduced to impair the security of the means forholding the lock in position to be engaged by" locking surface on the knuckle tail. 3 It is an object of the present invention to provide more positive anticreep'rneans' in association with a car coupler which is independent of the knuckle so that any rearward rotation in-bu'fi or lateral movement of the knuckle tail willnot reduce the areaor scope Ofinter'engag'ement of the anticreep member with a ledge arranged in" fixed relation on the coupler head whereby the anticreep member will more positively underlie the anticreep lug during all conditions of opera? tion; :1 i A further object of the invention is toprovide a railway car coupler with anticreep means for the look by engagementubetween atoggle' 01 like means and a ledge or lug carried by the'coupler head with such parts so constructed and arranged that if there is but slight overlap or interengalgement of these elements resulting from move-' ment of the rotary lever, further movement thereof will force the toggle into full anticreep engagement under the ledge. r. A still further object of the invention is to pro-'- vide a toggle in a car coupler of the type here under consideration which does not overlie the knuckle thrower arm before or after the'lock is lockset.

Another object of the invention is to'so construct the toggle which serves as an'anticreep member that no portion thereof will overlie the knuckle thrower arm during lifting of the lock: to thereby avoid anytendency ofthe'toggle to drag on the knuckle thrower arm tending to move coupler parts.

Other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent as the present disclosure proceeds and upon consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein an' exemplary embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

In the drawings: Fig. '1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a por-- tion of a coupler exhibiting the invention with the knuckle and rotary lever omitted and showing the lock in the locked position. 4

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view showing the toggle in a rotated position freeing the toggle from anticreep engagement with the ledge on the coupler head.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of parts of the coupler showing the rotary lever in elevation with the lock raised and the toggle in engagement with the anticreep lug.

Fig; 4 is a sectional View taken on the vertical center line of the coupler with the lock on lockset with the section through the knuckle throw er'arm taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view showing the position of the lock and the rotary lever infu open positionof the knuckle. V, "Fig. dis a sectional view taken on the horizontal center line of a coupler or on the line 6-6 of Fig. l, with the parts in the same position as depicted in Fig.3 and showing the zone of overlap between the toggle and the lug.'

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the horizontal center line of the coupler and" illustrating theknuckle in the full open position with the .Fig; 13 is ase'ctional view taken on the line l3--l3 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the rotor lever.

Fig. 15 is a side elevational view of the rotor lever.

The present invention is directed to anticreep means preventing undesired dislodgement of the look from a position for being engaged by the locking face on the tail of the knuckle in a railway car coupler. The anticreep means includes a ledge or lug carried by the coupler head adapted to be engaged by the toggle. Accordingly, the anticreep means is independent of the knuckle and the knuckle tail. The ledge or lug is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane and is arcuate shaped and so constructed that if the toggle barely underlies the lug, the arcuate surfaces of the toggle and the lug are such as to increase the interengagement of these members particularly during surging of a car or upon oscillating movement of the rotor lever in response to such movements of the railway car.

Referring to the drawings, the coupler head is shown at I6. The coupler head is provided with a front opening I! through which the tail [8 of the knuckle is adapted to extend. The knuckle is shown at [9 in Figs. 7 and 8 but is omitted from the other portions of the drawing for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the anticreep means. The knuckle is of conventional construction and is mounted for pivoting movement about a knuckle pivot pin 2!. The coupler head 16 is provided with an opening or throat 22 for accommodating the lifting mechanism of the lock and the anticreep means. This opening is provided with a front wall 23 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The coupler includes a lock 24 having a leg 26 which extends into the opening 22 in the locked position of the coupler. A knuckle thrower 2! is mounted for swinging movement about a trunnion 28 and the knuckle thrower includes a laterally arranged arm 29 as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The knuckle thrower 2! is adapted to engage a surface 3| and turn the knuckle to an open position about the axis of knuckle pivot pin 2|.

The leg portion 26 of the lock carries a trunnion 32 on which a toggle 33 is pivotally mounted. This toggle is shown more clearly in Fig. 9 and includes an arm 30 having an elongated slot 34 therein. This slot is hemi-circular shape at its ends and the center of the lower end of the slot is indicated at 36. The center for defining the arc of the upper end of the slot 34 is indicated at 31. The toggle 33 carries an arm 38 arranged substantially diametrically opposite the arm 30. This arm 38 is provided with an arcuate edge surface 39 having a curvature corresponding to the radius R, as shown in Fig. 3. The arm 38 of the toggle is also chamfered as shown at 4| in Figs. 8, 11 and 12 and the purpose of this angular arrangement will be more apparent as the present disclosure proceeds.

The toggle 33 is mounted for pivoted movement on the trunnion 32 so that this member is carried by the lower end of the leg 26 of the lock 24. The lock lifting mechanism includes a rotor lever 42 which is shown in Figs. 3, 5, l4 and 15 but is omitted from other parts of the drawings to facilitate illustration of the toggle and the anticreep features of the invention. A rivet or like means 43 extends through an arm of the rotor lever 42 and through the slot 34 in the toggle arm 30 as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The rotor lever 42 is mounted for rotation on trunnion 44 carried by the coupler head. The axis of the rivet 43 is thereby adapted to move along an are as indicated by the dash and dotted line 46 in Figs,- 1,

2 and 4. An operating rod (not shown) is provided for engaging an eye on the rotor lever 42 and this operating rod extends to the side of the car where it is supported in a bracket and is employed for operating the coupler. The structure of the operating rod and the mounting thereof is conventional and well-understood in the art. Accordingly, an illustration thereof and a description of such a coupler operating mechanism appears unnecessary for a full understanding of the invention.

The present invention includes a lug or ledge 41 carried by the coupler head and overhanging the vertical Wall 23 of the opening 22. This lug may be cast integral with the coupler head I6 adjacent the front opening IT. The ledge or lug 41 serves as part of the anticreep means and the top surface thereof curves downwardly from the mouth of the opening I! for facilitating introduction' of the lock 24 into an operative position in the coupler head. The under surface of the anticreep lug 41 is also of arcuate shape and has a radius of curvature indicated at El in Figs. 2 and 3. The purpose of curvature of the under surface of the lug 41 and the arcuate surface 39 on the toggle will be more apparent from the following description of the operation of the anticreep arrangement.

The locked position of the coupler is shown in Fig. 1. In this position of the parts, the center of the rivet 43 or the axis thereof then coincides with the center point 36 of the slot 34 and the toggle 33 is accordingly in the position shown in Fig. 1. In this position of the toggle, the arouate surface 39 underlies the lug 41. As the rotor lever 42 is turned, it rotates about the axis of the trunnion 44 and the rivet 43 slides in the slot 34 until the axis of the rivet 43 coincides with the center point 31 at the top of the slot 34. The axis of the rivet 43 moves in the arcuate V path 46 and upward movement of the rotor lever will swing the toggle 33 to the position shown in Fig. 2 where the center of the rivet 43 moving on the are 46 coincides with an arc 5| defining the radius of the center point 31 with reference to the axis of the trunnion 32. The toggle 33 has then rotated on the trunnion 32 and the arcuate surface 39 of the toggle arm 38 is then in such a position as to be out from under the lug 41. This position of the toggle is shown in Fig. 2. The center point 36 of the slot 34 is located on the are 46 when the upper end of the arm 38 of the toggle contacts the front wall 23 of the coupler head opening 22 as shown in Fig. 1. The center point 31 of the slot 34 is located on the are 46 when the upper end of the arm 38 of the toggle is out from under the anticreep lug 4'! as shown in Fig. 2. This construction provides a minimum of rotation or lost motion of the rotor lever 42 before initiating lifting of the lock 24.

When two couplers of the type herein described are mounted on railway cars and coupled in a train, there are times when the cars bounce and the train surges lengthwise simultaneously. During such a surge, when the cars tend to bunch up, the knuckle l9 and the tail is release pressure on the lock 24 and the rotor lever 42tends to rotate forward releasing the anticreep toggle 33 to a position as shown in Fig. 2. If the car i also bouncing, the lock 24 tends to jump up and if this member is raised sufficiently and onto a lockset position as shown in Fig. 4, the lock will remain elevated and the cars will separate when pull is again applied to the knuckle. The present invention provides a structure which reducessuch tendency of the cars to separate by unintentional release of the. knuckle for movement to, an unlocked position. A coupler exhibiting the invention requires a surge of the train of sufficient intensity to swing the rotor lever 42- for moving the toggle 33 to a position shown inFig. 2 followed immediately by a bounce of sufiicient intensity to throwthe lock 24 tothe lockset position. shown in Fig. 4. -Accordingly, the clearance C between the lip of the lug 41 and the upper' end of the toggle arm 38 ismade as small as possible to thereby provide a more positive anticreep arrangement to "prevent the arm 38 of the toggle 33 from escaping from engagement with the, lug or'anti'crep ledge 41.

As shown in Fig. 3, the 'radius'R defining the curvature of the arcuate surface 39 on the arm 38 of the toggle coincides with the radius R! defining the arcuate' surface of the under face of the anticreep lug or ledge 41. This interengagement of the toggle with the ledge prevents further upward movement of the lock 24'. The zone of interengagement of the toggle arm 38' with the ledge or lug 4'! is further illustrated in Fig. 6 where the zone of overlap is indicated by" the shaded area Z. If there is bouncing and surging of a car in a train provided With a coupler of the type and structure herein described, the rotor lever -42 may swing forward so that the upper end of the arm 38 of the toggle may barely underlie the lug 41. Theinclinedarcuate surfaces formed to have a radius RI on the lug and a radius of R' for the surface 39 of the toggle will tend to increase the overlap or'anticreep engagement of the toggle with the lug untilthe centers of the radii R and RI coincide. r

When the anticreep means is released as shown in Fig. 2, further rotationjof' the rotor lever 42 raises the lock 24.. A lockset shelf 52 is provided onthe leg portion 26 of thelock. When this shelf is above the'knuckle throwerarm 29, the leg portion 23 of the lock Will move backwardly due to the direction of the force then being applied to the trunnion32 on the lower end of the lock leg 26. A release of the rotor lever 42 will then allow the lockset shelf '52 t rest on the knuckle thrower arm 29 as shown in Figs. 4 and 8, and the knuckle I9 may then be opened. The arm 38 of the toggle 33 is then in a position as indicated at 54 in Fig. 4, and no part of the toggle is arranged'over the knuckle thrower arm 29. If the upper end of the toggle were" to overlie the thrower arm, there is a tendency for the toggle to drag on the knuckle thrower and move this member rearwardly so as to impair the lockset engagement. Accordinglyuone of the features of the invention pertains to avoiding movement of the toggle arm 38 to a position as indicated at 56 in Fig. 4 in order to obtain lockset.

. If it is desired to swing the knuckle 19 to an open position further rotation'is imparted to the rotor lever 42 which swings the toggle 33 with the upper end portion thereof "into engagement with the knuckle thrower arm 29 so as to turn the knuckle thrower 21 about'the axis of the pin 28. The forward-end portion of the knuckle thrower then engages thesurface 3i on the knuckle l9 and swing thismember in a clockwise direction in Fig. 8 about the axis of the knuckle pivot pin 2 I. The lock moves upwardly and assumes a position as shown in Figs. and 7 when the knuckle is moved to the open position. As hereinabove described, the arm 38 of the toggle 33 is chamfered as shown at 4| in Figs. 8 and 12. Thus, when the lock 24 is on lockset, the knuckle tail l8 will clear the toggle arm 38 when the knuckle I9,

ing the knuckle thrower 21. Thereafter the lock lifter assembly comprising the rotor lever 42 and the toggle 33 are riveted together and hooked onto the trunnion 44. The toggle 33 is raised through the opening 22 in the bottom of the coupler head. The lock 24 is then introduced with the trunnion 32 being first inserted'through the front opening H. The trunnion 32 of the lock is then inserted into the hole 58 in the toggle 33. The lock 24 is then moved back into the coupler head and raised to the lockset position shown in Fig. 4. Thereafter the knuckle l9 and the knuckle pivot pin 2| are applied. The arcuate shape of the top of the lug 41 facilitates the introduction of the lock 24 through the front opening I1 and does not interfere with the assembly of the coupler parts.

The anticreep means is independent of the knuckle tail and in operation of the assembly there is no tendency of the inticreep means being rendered inoperative by rotation of the knuckle in buff as is the case when the anticreep ledge or lug is carried by the knuckle tail. The arcu-ate characteristics of the anticreep lug and the toggle of the present invention provide a structure which move these parts to a position where there is a greater zone of overlap during bouncing or shaking of the cars.

While the present invention has been illustrated as applied to a coupler of the interlocking type, the anticreep mechanism may be readily applied to any type of coupler such as the Association of American Railroads Standard Tightlock or Type E couplers. The invention may be applied to couplers of the wedge lock type in which the locking surfaces on the lock and knuckle tail are tapered and the invention is equally applicable to couplers wherein the lock and knuckle have vertically engaging surfaces. Such modifications and others may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a car coupler, a coupler head, a knuckle mounted for pivoting movement on the coupler head, a vertically movable lock for said knuckle,-

a knuckle thrower including a lateral arm, a toggle including an arm mounted for pivoting movement on the lock, an anticreep lug carried I by the coupler head overlying an end of the arm on the toggle in the lowermost position of the lock, means for raising the lock and rotating said toggle, a lockset shelf carried by the lock for engaging the lateral arm of the knuckle thrower, and said toggle arm being so constructed as to avoid overlying or engagement with the knuckle thrower arm prior to and during lockset of the lock.

2; In a car coupler, a coupler head, a knuckle including a knuckle tail mounted for pivoting movement on the coupler head, a vertically movable lock for said knuckle tail, operating means for raising said lock to unlock the knuckle, a toggle arm carried by said operating means, a lug carried by the coupler head overlying an end of the toggle arm in a locked position of the lock, said toggle arm being adapted to engage said lug to limit undesired upward movement of the lock and swingable to a position to escape said lug and permit upward movement of the lock, and said toggle arm being chamfered to permit the knuckle 7 tailto swing to a full unlocked position without engaging the toggle arm.

3. In a railway coupler of the knuckle type, a coupler head having a front opening therein, said coupler head having a throat extending downwardly from the front opening, a wall surface on the coupler head defining the forward boundary of said throat, a lock including a leg adapted to extend into said throat in the locked position thereof, a lug carried by the coupler head having an upper surface arching downwardly from a lower edge of the front opening and projecting rearwardly from said wall surface into said throat, an under surface on said lug substantially parallel with said upper surf-ace, a rotor lever mounted for rotary movement on a lower portion of the coupler head, a toggle pivotally connected at one end to said rotary lever and at an intermediate portion to the leg of said lock, an arm carried by the toggle, an arcuate-shaped nose portion on the arm shaped to engage and conform to the curvature of the under surface of said lug to prevent upward movement of the lock.

4. In a railway coupler of the knuckle type, a coupler head having a front opening therein, said coupler head having a throat extending downwardly from the front opening, a substantially vertical wall surface on the coupler head defining a front boundary of said throat, a lock including a leg adapted to extend into said throat in the locked position thereof, a lug carried by the coupler head having an upper surface inclined downwardly from a lower edge of the front opening and projecting rearwardly from said wall surface into said throat, a concave under surface on said lug, a rotor lever mounted for rotary movement on a lower portion of the coupler head, a toggle pivotally connected at one end to said rotary lever, a trunnion carried by the lock leg extending through a circular opening in an intermediate portion of the toggle, a convex nose carried by the other end of the toggle for engaging the under surface of said lug to prevent upward movement of the lock.

5. In a railway car coupler of the knuckle type, a coupler head having a front opening therein, a wall on the coupler head defining the front of a generally vertical opening extending downwardly from said front opening, a lug carried by said Wall arching downwardly from a lower edge of the front opening and projecting into said vertical opening, a concave under surface on said lug, a trunnion mounted on a lower portion of the coupler head rearwardly of said vertical opening, a rotor lever swingable about the axis of said trunnion, a toggle having a circular opening in the intermediate portion, a lock including a leg, a trunnion carried by the leg extending through the opening in the intermediate portion of the toggle, said toggle having a slot in the lower end thereof, a rivet extending through said slot connecting the toggle to the rotor lever, and a convex shaped nose carried by the other end of the toggle for engaging the under surface of the lug and preventing inadvertent upper movement of the lock.

6. In a railway coupler, a coupler head having a front opening therein, a knuckle including a tail mounted for pivoting movement on the coupler head, said coupler head having a throat extending downwardly from the front opening, a substantially vertical wall surface on the coupler head defining a front boundary of said throat, a lock including a leg adapted to extend into said throat in the locked position thereof, a lug carried by the coupler head overhanging said vertical wall surface in said throat, an under surface on said lug arching downwardly into the throat from said wall surface, a rotor lever mounted for rotary movement on a lower portion of the coupler head, a toggle pivotally connected at one end to said rotor lever and at an intermediate part to the leg of said lock, an arcuate nose carried by a free end of the toggle for engaging the under surface of said lug to prevent upward movement of the lock, and said nose being chamfered to provide clearance for the knuckle tail upon movement of the knuckle to an open position while the toggle remains in a lock-set position.

7. In a railway car coupler, a coupler head, a knuckle mounted for pivoting movement on the coupler head, a vertically movable lock for said knuckle, a knuckle thrower mounted for swinging movement on the coupler head including a laterally arranged arm, a toggle mounted on the lock for movement therewith, an anticreep lug carried by the coupler head overlying an end of the toggle in the locked position of the lock, an arm forming a part of the toggle extending in a direction to engage said anticreep lug in the absence of rotation of the toggle, a rotor lever mounted on a lower portion of the coupler head for swinging said toggle and raising the look, a lock-set shelf carried by the lock for engaging said laterally arranged arm of the knuckle thrower, said toggle arm being so angularly disposed in relation to the axis of rotation of the toggle as to escape said anticreep lug during initial raising of the lock and to lie in such a position as to avoid engagement with the knuckle thrower arm prior to and during lock-set of the ock.

8. An anticreep and lock lifter for a railway coupler of the knuckle type comprising, a toggle member having a circular opening in an intermediate portion thereof, an arm extending from the intermediate portion, a convex nose on said arm, a chamfered edge on the nose portion, and an arm extending in a generally opposite direction from the intermediate portion, and the last arm having an elongated slot therein.

HARRY H. WOLFE.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 780,484 Hinson Jan. 17, 1905 790,209 Janney May 16, 1905 1,052,419 Krakau Feb. 4, 1913 1,067,584 Coflin July 15, 1913 1,072,075 Bazeley Sept. 2, 1913 1,479,100 Kelso Jan. 1, 1924 1,746,656 Kelso Feb. 11, 1930 2,350,470 Metzger Jan. 6, 1944 

